2016 World Series

Chicago Cubs (4) vs Cleveland Indians (3)

The 2016 World Series was the 112th edition of Major League Baseball's World Series, a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians, the first meeting of those franchises in postseason history.

Corey Kluber made World Series history by striking out eight hitters in the first three innings of Game 1. In the first, the Indians loaded the bases off Jon Lester on a single and two walks before Jose Ramirez's single drove in a run, then Lester hit Brandon Guyer with a pitch to force in another. Perez's home run in the fifth made it 3-0 Indians. In the eighth, Justin Grimm walked Guyer with two outs and allowed a single to Lonnie Chisenhall, then Hector Rondon allowed Perez's second home run of the night. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen finished the victory for the Indians despite Miller having to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, and the Indians took Game 1 of the series 6-0.

Looking to tie the series at one game apiece, the Cubs sent Jake Arrieta to the mound against the Indians' Trevor Bauer. The Cubs also featured six players under age 25 in the starting lineup, a postseason record. The Cubs started things off early as Kris Bryant singled in the first inning and Anthony Rizzo doubled to score Bryant and give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. The Cubs struck again in the third following a two-out walk by Rizzo and a single by Ben Zobrist. A single by Kyle Schwarber scored Rizzo from second and pushed the Cubs' lead to 2-0. Bauer was forced from the game in the fourth, and the Cubs struck again in the fifth. Rizzo walked again off Zach McAllister, and Zobrist tripled to plate Rizzo. Another run-scoring single by Schwarber off Bryan Shaw and a bases-loaded walk by Addison Russell pushed the lead to 5-0. Arrieta continued to pitch well, walking three batters but holding the Indians without a hit into the sixth inning. In the sixth, a double by Jason Kipnis ended the no-hitter, moved to third on a groundout and scored the lone Indians run of the game on a wild pitch by Arrieta. Arrieta allowed another single and was lifted for reliever Mike Montgomery. Both teams threatened in the seventh but could not score and, following a single by Mike Napoli in the bottom of the eighth, Aroldis Chapman entered to finish the game for the Cubs. The win marked the Cubs' first World Series game victory since 1945, and tied up the series at one game all.

Chicago pitcher Kyle Hendricks started against Cleveland pitcher Josh Tomlin during Game 3, a low-scoring contest where the only run came off a Coco Crisp single that scored Michael Martinez from third in the seventh inning. Tomlin, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, and ;Cody Allen combined to shut out the Cubs. Allen earned his sixth postseason save as Javier Baez struck out swinging to end the game, leaving the tying and winning runs in scoring position.

The Cubs struck first in Game 4 when Dexter Fowler doubled to lead off the first and scored on Anthony Rizzo's one-out single, but Kluber held them to that one run through six innings before Francona turned it over to the bullpen. In the second, Carlos Santana's leadoff home run off Lackey tied the game; then, with two on, Kluber's RBI single put the Indians up 2-1. Next inning, Jason Kipnis hit a leadoff double and scored on Francisco Lindor's single. In the sixth, Lonnie Chisenhall's sacrifice fly with two on off Mike Montgomery made it 4-1 Indians. Next inning, Justin Grimm allowed a leadoff double and one-out hit-by-pitch before being relieved by Travis Wood, who gave up a three-run home run to Kipnis put to the Indians ahead 7-1. The Cubs got one run back in the eighth, but the Indians were now just one win away from a World Series championship.

Jose Ramirez hit a home run for Cleveland in the second inning pf Game 5, but the Cubs, facing elimination, scored three runs in the fourth inning off Trevor Bauer. Kris Bryant led off the inning with a home run. Anthony Rizzo then doubled and Ben Zobrist singled. Addison Russell's RBI single put the Cubs up 2-1. After Jason Heyward struck out, Javier Baez's bunt single moved Zobrist to third before David Ross's sacrifice fly made it 3-1 Cubs. The Indians cut their deficit to 3-2 off Lester in the sixth on Francisco Lindor's RBI single that scored Rajai Davis from second base. With the tying run on second base in the seventh inning, Maddon brought in Aroldis Chapman, who threw 2.2 scoreless innings, earning his first save of the 2016 World Series.

How do you force a Game 7? Score three runs in the first inning, all with two outs, then hit a grand slam in the fourth inning. The Indians nipped away in the fourth, fifth, and ninth inning, but starting with a 7-run lead meant this Fall Classic was going to come down to a single deciding game, a true Fall Classic.

Game 7 of the 2016 World Series would go down as a classic, some calling it the greatest Game 7 in World Series history. The pitching matchup featured Kyle Hendricks, who had started Game 3 for the Cubs, and Corey Kluber, who had won games 1 and 4 and was pitching on three days' rest.

Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run for Chicago off Kluber, becoming the first player ever to hit a lead-off home run in a World Series Game 7! The Indians tied the game in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single by Carlos Santana, but the Cubs scored two runs in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by Addison Russell (Kris Bryant running aggressively to tag up from third on the short fly ball and slide under the tag at home) and a double by Willson Contreras. To start the fifth inning, Javier Baez hit a home run to center on the first pitch he saw to knock Kluber out of the game. Andrew Miller came on in relief and gave up a walk to Bryant and RBI single to Anthony Rizzo to push the lead to 5-1 (Bryant's aggressiveness again instrumental as he was attempting to steal second on the hit, allowing him to score all the way from first).

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hendricks retired the first two batters. A two-out walk to Santana persuaded Joe Maddon to relieve his starter. This move, along with others throughout the series, would be highly criticized afterward, as it appeared to some that Hendricks was pulled out too soon.

Jon Lester, who had started Games 1 and 5, came on in relief for the first time since the 2007 ALCS, coincidentally also against the Indians. David Ross committed a throwing error that allowed Jason Kipnis to reach base and put runners on second and third. A wild pitch that ricocheted off Ross's helmet allowed Santana and Kipnis to score, narrowing the Cubs' lead to 5-3. To atone for his blunders, the 39-year-old Ross hit a home run to center, in his final at-bat of his career, in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-3 game, becoming the oldest player to hit a home run in a World Series Game 7.

Lester retired the first two batters in the eighth inning, but was pulled after a Jose Ramirez single. Maddon opted to use Aroldis Chapman, who had thrown 42 pitches in Game 5 and was used in Game 6 despite the fact that the Cubs had already built a large lead. Brandon Guyer promptly hit a run-scoring double off Chapman, making the score 6-4. The next batter was Indians center fielder Rajai Davis, who unexpectedly hit a dramatic home run off Chapman, just barely clearing the left field wall and the left field foul pole, scoring Guyer.

With the game tied 6-6 after nine innings, a sudden cloudburst resulted in a 17-minute rain delay. During the delay, Cub right fielder Jason Heyward called his teammates into a weight room behind Chicago's dugout and told them, "We're the best team in baseball. Stick together and we're going to win this game."

When play resumed in the top of the tenth, Kyle Schwarber led off with a single off Bryan Shaw to right and was replaced by pinch runner Albert Almora. Kris Bryant then hit a deep fly ball to center, and Almora tagged up to second base, in what was called the "savviest baserunning play of the season." After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist stepped up to the plate. Zobrist delivered a clutch RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Almora, and breaking the tie. After another intentional walk to Addison Russell, Miguel Montero singled into left, scoring Rizzo and making the score 8=6.

Carl Edwards was called on to finish off the Indians in the bottom of the tenth, but after retiring the first two hitters, he walked Brandon Guyer, who took second base on defensive indifference. Davis, following up on his eighth-inning heroics, lined a single to center, making it a one-run game. Maddon called on Mike Montgomery, who had zero career saves. Montgomery retired Michael Martinez with an infield grounder fielded by Bryant, who threw to Rizzo to end the game, series, and the Cubs' 108-year world title drought.

The Cubs, playing in their eleventh World Series and their first sinc 1945, won their third championship and first since 1908, ending the longest world championship drought in North American professional sports history.

"What would you have done to see this happen? Chicago Cubs, World Series champions. Would you have sold your house? Taken a pay cut? Would you have sworn off chocolate or beer, red meat or golf? Would you endure a summer full of winter? Would you have traded a few Bulls championships or erased the memories of the Blackhawks Stanley Cups? Julianna Zobrist handed over her baby. She did not plan to do it. But plans changed throughout Game 7 of this World Series one of the most memorable games in the sports history. A Cubs-Indians World Series, impossible to imagine for so many decades, was somehow even harder to process when it actually happened. Game 7 was a murder mystery wrapped inside a Western inside a sci-fi thriller, one what-just-happened moment on top of another, and it was tied after nine innings when the rain came. - Sports Illustrated Writer Michael Rosenberg (11/03/2016,
Cubs buck deep-rooted history to win elusive title
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"We rallied together, we rallied strong, we knew that we could do this, we knew know we keep fighting we never quit,we always say it, and we pulled together, and the boys believed, and we won." -
Anthony Rizzo

"I've never won an award as a team I have always been able to do it individually but this trumps everything. I mean I am out here crying man I am so happy I cant even put this in words how this feels." -
Kris Bryant

"I just had to remind them who they were. I just had to remind everybody who we are, who these guys are, what we overcome to get here win or lose we never worry about that. Approaching every day beginning every day we never worry about win or loss we just worry about how were going out there have fun, compete, be right there for the guys next to us and not take the situation for granted. So I just had to remind them that man. I am proud of them I say it all the time I am proud of these guys." -
Jason Heyward

"What a group of winners, what a group of resilient winners, these guys have never quit. They have answered every challenge all year long, when you want to just crumble when the ball goes over the fence (Game 7, 8th inning 3-run homer by
Rajai Davis
to tie the game) these guys fight back and continue to have good at bats and play their game. We used every guy on our team position player wise and that says a lot about this team it's been that way all year." -
David Ross